Asiana and Eastar Suspend Operations on 3-4 China Routes Each... Korean Air and Others Also Considering Options
As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) reached four domestically, the infectious disease crisis alert was raised from caution to warning. On the 28th, the check-in waiting area for Chinese national airlines at Incheon International Airport appeared quiet. / Yeongjongdo - Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] As the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) rapidly spreads, national airlines are successively suspending flights on China routes. Along with the boycott of travel to Japan due to Korea-Japan conflicts and political instability in Hong Kong, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus originating from China has cast a red warning light on the profitability of the aviation industry even in the new year.
According to the aviation industry on the 29th, Asiana Airlines will temporarily suspend flights on the Incheon~Guilin route (4 times a week) and Incheon~Haikou route (2 times a week) starting February 1, and the Incheon~Changsha route (4 times a week) starting February 3. An Asiana Airlines official stated, "This is a measure to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus," adding, "We plan to decide on whether and when to resume flights depending on future developments."
Low-cost carrier (LCC) Eastar Jet has also decided to sequentially suspend flights on four routes: Incheon~Zhengzhou, Cheongju~Zhangjiajie, Cheongju~Haikou, and Jeju~Shanghai (Pudong) starting from the 30th.
Since the novel coronavirus outbreak became serious, suspending some China routes is not limited to just these two airlines. T’way Air, which was originally scheduled to start a new Incheon~Wuhan route on the 21st, took the drastic measure of postponing its inaugural flight on the same day. Korean Air, which operated the Incheon~Wuhan route four times a week, also suspended operations until next month due to the ban on aircraft takeoffs and landings at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport.
The suspension of flights is spreading beyond Wuhan to other regions as well, due to the rapid spread of confirmed novel coronavirus cases beyond Wuhan and Hubei Province. First, Air Seoul temporarily suspended flights on the Incheon~Zhangjiajie (3 times a week) and Incheon~Linyi (2 times a week) routes as of the previous day. Considering these are Air Seoul’s only China routes, this effectively means a full suspension of its China operations. Jeju Air will also sequentially suspend flights on China routes such as Gimhae~Zhangjiajie, Muan~Zhangjiajie, and Muan~Sanya starting from today. Additionally, Jin Air plans to temporarily suspend some routes (Jeju~Xi’an).
Meanwhile, voices of concern are rising within the industry about worsening profitability as demand shrinks even on China routes. Especially, airlines with high dependence on China routes are expected to suffer greater damage. As of the third quarter of last year, the share of China routes in passenger revenue for each airline was: Korean Air 13%, Asiana Airlines 19%, Jeju Air 15%, Jin Air 14%, and T’way Air 5%.
An industry official said, "The first quarter is traditionally a peak season, but with negative factors hitting all major short-haul markets, profitability improvement is expected to slow down," adding, "If the novel coronavirus outbreak is not contained early, demand shrinkage could spread to other routes beyond China routes, similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak."
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